The Muslim understanding of the creation of man and his hope
It has been said that ‘Allah is the essence of Islam.’ This is to be expected, for in every system of theology the nature of the deity worshipped must determine the details of the entire system and impart to that system its specific characteristics. Allah’s distinctive nature determines the range and interests of Islamic theology and, just as every Christian doctrine is based upon what we know of God in Christ, so every Muslim doctrine is related to Allah.
Did Allah have any fixed purpose in His act of Creation?
Muslim theology will not admit that Allah had any fixed purpose which might condition or restrict the operation of His will, the work of Allah is entirely unconditioned while Christian soteriology cannot find its source in an indifferent and unconditioned divine will. It would be nonsense for the Muslim to speak of Allah as One who is working out a purpose of salvation, and that He has sent His prophets over the centuries in order to prepare men in the fullness of time for a great sacrificial act of self-emptying and self-giving. Allah does not work out such a plan, or submit to the conditions which such a purpose of grace and righteousness imposes; He does ‘as He pleases.’
Some verses suggest Allah created intelligent life so that they could worship Him:
> Allah is said to have created man and the jinn in order that they may worship Him (Adh-Dhariyat 51 :56),
There are some passages in the Quran where there is the suggestion that Allah had a purpose in creating some men and jinn in order to fill Hell:
> “and for this did He create them: and the word of thy Lord shall be fulfilled: “I will fill Hell with jinns and men all together.”(Hud 11:119)
> “Many are the Jinns and men we have made or Hell”: (Al Ar’af 7:179).
Some verses suggest that He had a design and purpose for bringing others into His mercy and believers therefore ask that they be kept from the torment of the fire:
> “Our Lord! not for naught Hast Thou created (all) this! Glory to Thee! Give us salvation from the penalty of the Fire” (Al-Imran 3:191).
The creation of man
We also find that the initial act of the creation of man is described in the Quran and the Bible in almost the same terms (apart from the additional elements found in the Quran). They diverge, however, not so much in their accounts of that initial act but most clearly in their different approach to the doctrine of man. We read in the Quran that Allah created Adam from the crackling clay of black mud:
> “We created man from sounding clay, from mud moulded into shape” (Al-Hijr 15:26)
Then, after the creation of the first man, Adam, all men were called into existence. This pre-existence of the whole human race is referred to in the verse below:
> “When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam from their loins their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord ?” They said: “Yea! We do testify!” (Al-Ar’af 7:172)
Muslim tradition tells us that they were drawn-out of their ancestor’s loins in the form of small ants endued with understanding. They were given the opportunity to acknowledge Allah as their Lord, and then returned again to their ancestor’s loins.
After forming man, Allah is said to have given His spirit to man; that is Allah infused into man a created thing:
> “When I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, fall ye down in obeisance unto him.”(Al-Hijr 15:29)
> “But He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him something of His spirit!” (As-Sajdah 32:9)
At his creation the angels were ordered by Allah to adore Adam and Satan was reprobated because he refused to adore any other than Allah:
> “It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who prostrate.”(Al-Ar’af 7:11)
Islam regards Adam as the first prophet, and declares that he had writings delivered to him in the form of leaves (suhuf).
Allah has subjected creation to man
> “Do ye not see that Allah has subjected to your (use) all things in the heavens and on earth, and has made his bounties flow to you in exceeding measure, (both) seen and unseen?” (Luqman 31:20)
Man is preferred by Allah over many things which He has created
> “We have honoured the sons of Adam; provided them with transport on land and sea; given them for sustenance things good and pure; and conferred on them special favours, above a great part of our creation” (Al-Isra 17:70).
Man was created weak
> “Allah doth wish to lighten your (difficulties): For man was created weak”(An-Nisa 4:28).
Man is hasty and rash by nature
> “The prayer that man should make for good, he maketh for evil; for man is given to hasty” (Al-Isra 17:11).
> “Man is a creature of haste”: (Al-Anbiya 21:37)
> “Truly man was created very impatient; Fretful when evil touches him; And niggardly when good reaches him; Not so those devoted to prayer “(Al-Ma’arij 70:19-22)
Allah created woman from the first man
> “It is He Who created you from a single person, and made his mate of like nature, in order that he might dwell with her” (Al-Ar’af 7:189).
> “He created you from a single person: then created, of like nature, his mate” (Az-Zumar 39:6)
> “Adam and Eve sinned in obeying Satan and were expelled from the Garden, but Allah accepted Adam’s repentance” (Al-Baqarrah 2:35);
In the light of this and other considerations, Muslims hold that there was no taint of original sin which could be passed on by Adam to his descendants. All that is in man is the direct and immediate creation of Allah, and He it is who fashions each soul and teaches it its sin and its piety.
Each person is responsible for its own actions and no soul can bear the burden of another
> “No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another” (Al-Isra 17:15).
> “Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another’s burdens if one heavily laden should call another to (bear) his load. Not the least portion of it can be carried (by the other). Even though he be nearly related. Thou canst but admonish such as fear their Lord unseen and establish regular prayer. And whoever purifies himself does so for the benefit of his own soul; and the destination (of all) is to Allah.” (Fatir 35:18)
Man will die, be resurrected and face the judgement
Man is composed of body and soul (nafs); the soul being a subtle body which is infused into the physical body ‘as water permeates the rose.’ Islam believes that when the body dies, the soul leaves it for the first judgement, and then returns to the body in the tomb and is questioned by the two terrible angels Munkar and Nakir. Apart from the souls of prophets and martyrs, which go directly to Paradise, the souls of men stay in the grave until the Resurrection. In this latter connection the Quran teaches that there will be a resurrection of the physical body.
Man exists only by Allah’s decrees
The above is a brief statement of the Quranic and Muslim teaching about the creation of man and his constitution. There is, however, another important factor to be taken into consideration, which follows from the central and fundamental doctrine of Allah’s nature, namely, that all is as Allah wills, and all that each man does and is, is related to Allah‘s decree. As is usual, the teaching of the Quran takes more formal and definite shape in the books of traditions. In such books there is always a section dealing with Allah’s decree and in the famous Mishkat al Masabih there are many traditions dealing with this subject we read for example;
‘Allah wrote the fates of created things fifty thousand years before He created the heavens and the earth.’
We also read: ‘It is related from Muslim bin Yasar that he said: Umar bin al Khattab was asked concerning the verse of the Quran ‘When thy Lord drew forth from the Children of Adam from their loins their descendants, and made them testify concerning themselves, (saying): “Am I not your Lord (who cherishes and sustains you)?”- They said: “Yea! We do testify!” (This), lest ye should say on the Day of Judgment: “Of this we were never mindful”: (Al-Ar’af 7:172). Umar said: I heard the Apostle of Allah questioned concerning this verse, and he replied:
Verily, Allah created Adam and then stroked his back with His right hand and brought forth Adam’s descendants from it, and He said: I have created these for Paradise and they will perform the acts of people of Paradise. Then Allah stroked Adam’s back and brought forth (other) descendants from it and He said: I have created these for the Fire and they will perform the acts of people of the Fire. Then a man said: Of what use, 0 apostle of Allah, will deeds of any kind be? Then the apostle of Allah replied: When Allah creates a servant for Paradise, He bids him perform the actions of the people of Paradise until he dies doing the actions of the people of Paradise, and thereby He causes him to enter Paradise. And when Allah creates a slave for the Fire, He bids him to perform the actions of the people of the Fire until he dies doing the actions of the people of the Fire, and thereby He causes him to enter into the Fire’.
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